quote:Originally posted by BILLW:
Doug,
There is really that much tax on a pack of smokes ? How much do they retail for ?
Bill 
The lion share of the price of cigarettes is government taxes in the States too. My husband works for a wholesale grocery distributor and the only thing that is kept under lock and key and inventoried daily is the cigarettes because the government requires it to protect their "investment". If they come up short and can't explain it...in typical government fashion, 16K forms have to be filled out in triplicate.
As for the original topic, Doug...I am still on the fence. I am not a fan of the music moguls and you do bring up an excellent point about why don't they let us listen in the stores before we buy (there are a few that do, but not enough). Still, I think that there are way too many people (kids) who download, burn and share so they don't have to buy the cd. I fear it's a never ending debate with no universal solution.
C